Non-invasive procedures such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), stent delivery and deployment, radiation treatment, delivery of a drug at a lesion site and other procedures are used in the treatment of intravascular disease. These therapies are well known in the art and most utilize a balloon catheter in conjunction with a guidewire. First, a guidewire is advanced in the patient until it reaches the treatment site at the lesion or stenosis. The balloon catheter is then advanced over the guidewire until it reaches the treatment site. The balloon is inflated to compress the lesion site and dilate the previous narrowed lesion or stenosis site. If the balloon carried a stent or drug, the drug or stent is delivered at the site when the balloon is inflated. Likewise additional therapies may use a balloon catheter in the treatment of the lesion site.
Catheters used in vascular procedures must be flexible to navigate the tortuous anatomy of the patient's vasculature, but must also have sufficient stiffness to aid in pushability and tracking of the catheter. As a result, catheters have been designed to have a more flexible distal end and a stiffer proximal portion. However, there continues to be a need for a catheter with an extremely flexible tip that does not diminish trackability of the catheter. The present invention addresses this need by providing a novel way to attach a flexible distal tip without diminishing from the tracking and pushability of the catheter.